After months of threatening legal action against the Obama administration, Kentucky’s Republican Senator Rand Paul has declared he will officially join a class-action lawsuit against President Obama and several senior administration officials over the National Security Agency’s domestic spying program.

Paul said in a statement that surveillance of American citizens defies the fourth amendment, WFPL news reports. The 2016 presidential prospect will file the suit on Wednesday in Washington, D.C. and address reporters at a press conference.

“I expect this case to go all the way to the Supreme Court and I predict the American people will win,” Paul said in the statement from his political action committee RandPac.

The NSA’s surveillance program gained national attention when government contractor Edward Snowden released classified documents about the program last year. Spying began under Republican President George W. Bush after the 9/11 attacks and continued under Obama.

Love it! This idiot Paul and he is trying to find anything and everything to put himself out there now. First let us begin with the Clintons and President and in the White House and he abused this young lady who was of age and knew what she was doing? Yes, we know that it was so stupid. Move on Paul Then that Hillary messed up and got those people killed in Benghazi. Yes, terrible and if you read the nothing protection a guard at the gate and not even a gun who decided on this one. We won't get into why we went to war in Iraq and Afganistan and the lives and thebillions this has cost all of us? Never forget one young man from Ala. died in Iraq in the Army Stephen still see his face. How come? Now we attack Obama and the NSA spying on all of us? Trying to figure out what dot most of us have to hide in the first place. Not get much out of any of my e mails or phone calls kind of boring.? Even Newt on Crossfire recently said he is not against spying on some of the Worlds Leaders that some are not out for us anyway? Wish the media would ignore Paul but he is making such a food of himself I guess they have to take notice. Pay more attention to Sen Bernie Sanders who is out to take care of us the working person today not for his own publicity at others expense.

You can’t have a single warrant apply to millions of people. No, you can't have our personal records (IS THIS PART OF THE PHONE PRIVACY POLICY? EVERYONE KNOWS EMAILS ARE NOT SECURE!) without our permission or without a warrant specific to an individual. We want obama to protect the Fourth Amendment. We want obama to protect the right to privacy. We want obama to understand that we're not willing to trade our liberty for security, that we think we can have security, that we can defend against terrorism, but that doesn't mean that every individual American has to give up their privacy (AND ID). We want the cell phone provider to be able to appeal the FISA court, we don't think a question of constitutionality should be decided in secret. obama is using the IRS to go after people who have a certain political view or a certain religious belief. obama uses what is supposed to be impartial, the IRS, leads America to wonder and worry whether or not obama will use the NSA that way. America is concerned that obama thinks he has the power to collect all our records. obama doesn't get to create the law, write the law and decide and adjudicate it. This has to go before the Supreme Court!

Paul will accomplish nothing going about it in this manner. The only way to stifle the NSA's power, is to AMEND the Patriot Act. That will take an act of Congress and I pity the poor fool tasked with this responsibility.

he honestly is suing the taxpayers, what a joke when we have so many economical complaints, on another note why is this news to him, isn't he in the club, isn't he a senator, shouldn't he have been somewhat aware, maybe he should sue McCain too while he is at it, common now, snowden was a measly high school dropout who didn't even work for the nsa and he new who merkel was sleeping with you mean to tell me rand had not a clue

WELL I AM UPSET BUT SUING THE PRESIDENT IS NOT GOING TO HELP WHEN UNDER THE PATRIOT ACT THIS IS ACTUALLY LEGAL. PAUL IS A CONGRESS MAN AND HAS THE ABILITY TO ACTUALLY WORK WITH CONGRESS ON THIS ISSUE AND PUBLIC OPINION IS ON HIS SIDE ON THIS ISSUE SO WHY SUE THE PRESIDENT WHEN YOU HAVE THE ABILITY AS A LAW MAKER TO MAKE CHANGES IT JUST MAKES NO SENSE.

If Rand was doing this because he truly believed Obama's program violated the constitution, he wouldn't have remained silent during the Bush years. But he did remain silent, so this comes off as phony and partisan. I'm afraid what we have here is just another episode of political grandstanding - which is about the only thing most politicians in Washington seem capable of.

I seem to remember Democrats being called unpatriotic at best and traitors at worse when they spoke out against the Patriot Act. Funny how things change - I wonder what could be different now. /rolls eyes/

Where was Rand Paul when President George Bush signed the Patriot Act on October 26, 2001 in which "roving wiretap" was a key aspect of that law? Oh, I get it. It's only a violation when a Democrat, even worst a black man, who is President. Everyone knows that this country can only be led by white men. Anything a black man, who is president, does is offensive. After all, racists have hung black men for much less, like winking at a white woman.

it always fun to regurgitate the outrage that Republicans expressed over the Clipper Chip proposals during the Clinton years.

http://www.badattitudes.com/AshWeb.htmlBut doing so reminds us that the battle for personal privacy cuts across party lines and that there are no shortage of Democrats who are willing to sacrifice freedom if they think it will give them "law and order" or "war on terror" cred.

I've always assumed that every link I've ever clicked as well as every case of beer I've ever purchased was available as a data point for anyone willing to dig for it. And who even knows how many servers the photos we take with our cel-phones end up on.

One of the downsides of technological advancement is that anything that can be done will be done at some point. Does everyone remember the talk of internet-enabled refrigerators?

Needless to say, the more connected we all are, the more irresistible the urge to monitor and control will become. It's just plain human nature.

Rand "pubic hair" Paul is joining up with a number of congressmen/women, and focusing on the lowest common denominator. Good job, barrel scraper. Anyone else tired of do-nothing, but say a lot congressmen/women?

@herrer Maybe Congress did work for the people at one time, but not anymore. Their own self-interests (money, fame, power) are what drive their actions now. We are way down on the list of things that matter.

@JohnDavidDeatherage Then here's a thought take away the authority to do it. Scrape the Patriot Act. The suit is a PR stunt. Paul has no standing in the case and you cannot sue a sitting President for performing his duties. We may not like the NSA intrusion, but until we get rid of the Patriot Act it will continue.

@JohnForsthoffer Maybe people are more worried about Cyberwars, keeping our internets safe from hacking and tracking terrorists cells (some in the US) than they are over whether NSA is listening to grandma in Peoria.

True. You can tell by
the amount of interest on the last two articles on NSA spying. The masses
have been brainwashed and are nothing more than partisan sheep.

They are too busy giving away their privacy on facebook to realize what the
future can look like with facial recognition software, tracking devices in
their cars, and of course the ability to spy on citizens right through their
own cell phones, TVs and computers.

Needs better structure if you're trying to write a novel... I read through enough of it and I still don't care for Mr Nagel - which means it really doesn't work. Needs more background and characterisation.

@ahandout@nightowwl .... didn't realize you needed to be in office to make your voice heard and sue someone for breaking the law. He has been involved in political activism since the 90s. This is a political move, pure and simple.

@ahandout@jsfox@JohnDavidDeatherage yep and the Patriot Act was upheld by the US Supreme Court long before he took office. If Obama refused to follow through on this act of Congress we would have Rand Paul going after the president for that instead.